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SuperkartsUSA congratulates both of these drivers and wishes them good luck in the upcoming 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series!

Alex Ellis of Canada and Gary Carlton from the USA have been chosen from an international field as the winners of the Jim Russell Future Driver 2010 selection. Ellis and Carlton each receives a fully-funded season in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series plus coaching and testing opportunities.

Almost 40 drivers, representing 10 different countries and with an average age of 20 (the youngest being 14), participated in the four-day (December 19-22) selection process at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., which features the impressive Jim Russell Racing Drivers School complex.

A total of 20 drivers were then selected to continue in to the final two-days, with six progressing into the last day of Jim Russell’s new worldwide driver search program which was launched this year to find the best young talent from the worlds of karting and “junior” formula car racing.

Speed, precision and car control were evaluated when driving karts, Mitsubishi Evolution X sedans and the school’s purpose-built FJR-50 single-seater race cars. They were appraised on their application of “feedback”, technical understanding of each of the vehicles while media awareness, racecraft and fitness were also observed and evaluated in the latter stages.

In addition to Ellis and Carlton, Germany’s Bastien Graber (18), James Kovacic (16), from Australia, Brazilian Felipe Polehtto (20), and American Jeffrey Westphal (23) were involved in the final day, six-driver shoot-out. Read Full story on eKartingnews.com.

For some time, the Superkarts! USA management team has been concerned about the increasing number of complaints regarding escalating costs in its Stock Honda program. Some of the complaints are due to the component choices inherit in our current rules set, while others are due to the ability to utilize non-stock settings or parts. While some of these variants were initially approved to minimize availability problems, they have since become performance oriented. As such, with reliability being the primary goal, SKUSA is announcing the following rule changes, which will go into effect on January 1, 2010.

“While we realize that these changes may not be universally welcomed, we believe that it is in the best, long run interest of the Stock Moto program to return to as close a “box stock” configuration as possible,” offered John Motley, SKUSA’s National Technical Director.

A successful weekend at the world’s largest kart race, SuperNationals XIII, has awarded two young drivers a chance at launching their careers in motorsports. Utah’s Tyler Bennett and Gustavo Menezes from southern California have each been awarded a scholarship to the 2010 Jim Russell Future Driver Selection.

Bennett, racing in the Stock Moto S3 category, was recently ranked number one by Ekartingnews.com and backing up that ranking with his weekend’s performance at the SuperNationals. A heat race win and two seconds put Bennett on the second row for the all-important start of the main event. A back and forth battle between the top seven drivers saw Bennett pushed back to 6th position after contact at the half way point. Showing maturity beyond his age, Bennett passed his way back to finish a very impressive second.

Equally impressive, was Gustavo Menezes pulling double duty competing in both TaG Senior and KF2. Like Bennett, Menezes qualified second in the ultra competitive TaG Senior field out pacing veteran drivers Dan Wheldon and Michael Valiante. Menezes showed very well in race form and appeared to be on route to the main event win before minor contact in the final corner moved him to second position.

After completing an agreement to become the latest region for the Superkarts! USA organization, the SKUSA Hawaii series is set to kick off the first of seven events for the Maui Kart Challenge this weekend at the Maui Motorsports Park - Puunene Kart Track. As the first SKUSA regional program outside the continental 48 states, the Maui Kart Challenge has spent the past month preparing for the opening event on June 7, to be held under the lights, in hopes of building the karting community on the Hawaiian Islands.

The Maui GoKart Association will be behind the running of the Maui Kart Challenge. The organization is currently in a rebuilding stage as the sport of karting has come and gone on the island over the past 20 years. The Puuene Kart Track – where all seven races will be held this season – is a half-mile course with two long straights, boasting nine turns equipped with CIK-style curbing and a full lighting system for night racing. The Maui Kart Challenge will offer the basic SKUSA class structure for their shifters with S1, G1, S3, S4, S5 Jr, and K1 (for the 80cc Shifters), and then TaG Juniors, Seniors and Masters for the TaG racers. Local option classes will be run as well during the weekend.

“I’d really like to thank Tom Kutscher and SKUSA for being involved with our program and creating the SKUSA Hawaii region,” stated Art Gumpfer of the Maui Kart Challenge. “With this new partnership, we hope to bring karting to many racers on the Hawaiian Islands with a respectable program that they can be proud of. I’d also like to thank Tony Kart Florida, Fastech Racing, Gumpfer Motorsports, Pacific Rim Productions, and American Standard Concrete Pumping for their support of the new program.”

Practice will begin at 8:00 am and run all day to prepare for qualifying at 5:00 pm before getting into the racing action. A new website has been produced - http://www.mauikartingclub.com - and will be updated throughout the year with all the Maui Kart Challenge information. For more details regarding the Maui Kart Challenge, contact Art Gumpfer at 808-216-3514 or the karting office at 808-873-8363.

After nearly two years in the making, the stars have aligned and the first installment of the new Superkarts! USA Central States Challenge (SCSC) will take place this coming weekend at the I-55 Speedway karting circuit in Pevely, Missouri, set on the calendar for June 7-8. Previously known as the Central States Super Series, the program created by PG Racing’s Greg Yocom was recently able to join forces with the SKUSA organization to help build a stronger regional presence in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

To help make the debut a memorable one, Yocom and his SCSC staff are going at the event 110%. Kicking off the series, SKUSA President Tom Kutscher will be on-hand to oversee the first event, taking the opportunity to introduce himself to all of the new SKUSA racers. In addition to Kutscher, one of the lead technicians of SwedeTech Racing Engines will be on-site to provide engine tuning assistance throughout the weekend. Also on the docket for the opening round will be a Saturday night BBQ and special prizes handed out throughout the weekend.

“I want to thank Tom (Kutscher) for helping this become a reality and working with us to help grow this region,” stated Yocom. “With Tom present at the opening round, our racers will be able to talk with him directly rather than through me, to help them understand how serious we are in becoming one of the best programs in the country, as we already have some of the best racers.”

The I-55 Speedway karting circuit is located in Pevely, MO and is a nine-turn, 0.55-mile circuit with an 800 ft. long front stretch. “Thunder Valley” as it’s known, features hairpin turns, a banked Monza and a tight Esses section that creates a challenge to each driver. The SKUSA Central States Challenge will be offering a variety of classes, the core based on the SKUSA ProKart Challenge South program: S1, G1, G2, S3 Heavy, S4 Light, S4 Heavy, TaG Senior, TaG Masters and the S5 Junior division. Local option classes include TaG Junior, TaG Cadet, Kid Karts and 2&4 cycle classes.

As with most SKUSA regions, an outstanding prize package will be offered at the end of the year, including an all expense paid trip to compete at the Granja Viana 500 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, racing alongside Formula 1 and IRL superstars, courtesy of MG Tires Brazil. Trip includes airfare, hotel, transportation, and all race expenses – a $10,000 value. All Central States Challenge racers will be eligible if they are 18 or over, have competed in all six of the series events, and are present at the series banquet for the drawing. Entries to the SuperNationals, class championship trophies, championship jackets and more will be awarded at the year-end award ceremonies.

The series will be holding a practice session on Friday, June 6 from 12:00 – 6:00 pm. To help attract new races, Yocom will also offer up a half-price entry to anyone traveling in from over 200 miles. The series website is currently in a rebuilding stage -- although the former website is still available with all of the series information. See http://www.thecsss.com